BBQ Art Co. Wins Best BBQ Overall, People's Choice & 1st Place Ribs at the 2026 BBQ Competition

Three Trophies, One Very Good Day

On June 20, we packed up the smokers and rolled into the 2026 BBQ Competition at Loaded Cannon Distillery in Lakewood Ranch. We came to cook. We left with three awards.

BBQ Art Co. took home Best BBQ Overall, the People's Choice Award, and 1st Place in the Ribs category — a clean sweep of the day's biggest honors. To everyone who came out, grabbed a tasting, and cast a vote for us: thank you. This one belongs to you as much as it does to us.

Why the People's Choice Award Means the Most

There are competitions judged by a panel behind a curtain, and there are competitions judged by the people standing in line with a plate in their hand. This one let the crowd decide — VIP tasters sampled across every competitor and voted on who they thought did it best.

When the votes were counted, the people picked BBQ Art Co. for Best BBQ Overall. That's the award we're proudest of, because it's the same verdict we chase every single service: feed real people real food and let them tell us how we did. It's the same reason we've earned 66 five-star reviews across Southwest Florida — the people who eat our brisket keep telling us we got it right.

The Ribs That Took First

The 1st Place Ribs trophy came down to the method we build everything around: low-and-slow hardwood smoke, finished sous vide. We smoke for hours until the bark sets and the smoke ring deepens, then finish vacuum-sealed at a precise temperature that locks in every bit of moisture and flavor the smoke put in.

That second step is what almost no one else in SW Florida does — and it's why our ribs come off tender and consistent instead of dried out at the ends. The same technique runs through everything on our menu, from the brisket to the certified organic chicken to the pork belly burnt ends.

We Didn't Win Alone — The Sides Showed Up Too

A rib trophy gets the headline, but anyone who tasted the full spread knows the sides carry their weight. Every one of them is scratch-made, every single service — the hand-shredded Russian Coleslaw (a nod to founder Arthur Gumirov's Lithuanian roots), the smoked baked beans, the mac and cheese, the cornbread. No commissary trays, no shortcuts. When you're being judged plate-for-plate against every other operation at the event, the details are the difference.

What "Award-Winning" Actually Changes

Honestly? Not much about how we cook — we were already giving every plate everything we had. What it changes is what we can tell you with a straight face: BBQ Art Co. is now an award-winning, People's Choice–voted BBQ operation in Southwest Florida. If you're planning a wedding, a corporate lunch, a backyard blowout, or a community event and you want the BBQ that just beat the field, that's us.

We bring the full operation — smoke, sous vide, scratch sides, and all — to events across North Port, Venice, Sarasota, Port Charlotte, Englewood, and Punta Gorda.

Come Taste the Winner

Want the award-winning ribs at your next event? Book catering or find the truck this week — we post our schedule every Monday on Instagram @bbqartco. And if you were one of the people who voted for us at Loaded Cannon: the next plate's going to taste even better knowing you put us on top.

Smoke meets art — now with hardware to prove it.